Safety attachment for electric irons



R. E. CAMPBELL.

SAFETY ATTACHMENT FOR ELECTRIC IRONS.

APPLICATION flLED ,SEPT. 8, i920.

6 1 3 1 Patented May 3, 1921. a

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

Fall.

29 3] 0 gvvbwntoz R. E. CAMPBELL.

SAFETY ATTACHMENT FOR ELECTRIC IRONS.

APPLICATION FILEDESEPLB, i920- 1,876,513. 7 Patent/ed y 3, 1321 2SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RONALD ELISON CAMPBELL, OF COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA, ASSIGN'OR TOCHARLES C. WILSON, OF COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA.

SAFETY ATTACHMENT FOR ELECTRIC IRONS.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RONALD E. CAMPBELL, a citizen of the United States,and residing at Columbia, Richland county, State of South Carolina, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety Attach- .mentsfor Electric Irons, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to electrically heated implements, andparticularly to electrically heated sad irons.

One object of the invention is to provide an attachment by means ofwhich an electrically heated iron having the usual manually operableplug and socket connection with the electric mains is converted into aniron having connection with the electric mains through an automaticswitch, the electric connection being completed when the handle of theiron is grasped and broken when the handle is released. A feature ofthis attachment is that it may be quickly adjusted so that the switch isopened or closed either automatically or non-automatically, that is, thecircuit may'be completed and broken automatically when the handle isgrasped and released, or may be completed and broken in the ordinarymanner.

Another object is to provide an attachment for astand upon which theiron is adapted to be placed when not in use, this attachment beingadapted to coiiperate with the attachment on the iron to prevent thecircuit being broken when the iron is on the stand and the handlereleased, so long as the temperature of the iron is not excessive, butwhich will release the circuit breaking mechanism of the iron as soon asthe temperature of the latter has exceeded a predetermined degree.

Many forms. of electrically heated irons are not provided with automatic features to prevent excessive heating and as a result much damageis done to the iron itself and to any cloth or other object againstwhich the iron may contact in its overheated condition. By using thepresent invention the overheating of the iron and the burning ofvaluable articles is prevented. By providing simple and inexpensiveattachments to the iron and to its stand respectively, the former i:prevented from overheating when on the s\ and, and its connection to themains Specification 0f Letters Patent.

Patented May 3, 1921.

Application filed September 8, 1530. Serial N 408,917

is automatically broken wlien it is laid down at any point other than onthe stand and its handle released by theoperator.

The invention may be embodied in various forms and one satisfactoryembodiment will be disclosed in the following description when takenwith the accompanying draw- .ings lI1 Wl11Cl1Z portions of that part ofthe invention which is attachedto the sad iron;

Fig. 8 1s a section on the line 88 of Fig. 4.

' he sad iron illustrated has the usual body portion 10, which containsa suitable heating element, (not illustrated) a handle 11, and a.separable connection comprising a socket 12 and plug 13, by means ofwhich the heating element of the iron may be connected to the electricmains contained in the cable 14:. The stand 15 may be of any well knowntype. and may be of cast iron, sheet metal, or other material. Securedto the rear post or pedestal of the iron is a metallic cylindricalcasing-16 which surrounds the socket member 12 and constitutes a guidefor the plug member 13 as it moves into and out of engagement with thesocket. The casing 16 is referably made of sheet metal and its adjacentlongitudinal edge portions are spaced and parallel, bolts 17 beingprovided at the ends to hold the ing around the plug 13 and inclosing.the

same is a cylindrical member 19, also preferably of sheet metal, the endportions of which extend outwardly through the slot betw' en the edgeportions of the casing, and

one of these end. portions being formed with an upwardly :opening groove19, clearly illustrated in Fig. 6.

The casing 16 has an interior annular bead 20 formed by externallygrooving the same and between this bead or, shoulder 20 and the member19 is located a coiled springl 21 which normally tends to elongate anseparate the plug and socket and to break the electrical circuit. Lyingin the groove 19 is the rear end of a longitudinally extending rod 22which extends parallel to the handle and has at its forward end avertically extending portion hooked at the top and extending around thehandle, as shown in Fig. 8. The circular portion extending around thehandle is provided with a felt pad 23. This rod is offset near its rearend the circuit.

around the hook 27. 7 adjacent the lower portion of the face plate l'ofth member 23.

at 24; and a shoulder thereby formed which is adapted to engage the rearedge of the grooved portion 19.

To the stand is detachably secured a horizontally extending bracket 25,which has pivotally secured thereto an upright member 26. At the forwardend of the bracket 25, which is preferably detachaloly secured to thestand by means of a thumb screw 25, is a hook 27 which is connected to acatch 28 by means of the diagonally extending latch 29 and fusible link30, which extends through the eye 31 of the latch 29, and The fusiblelink 30 is of the iron 10 and is designed to melt when the iron, whichhas been placed on the stand, has exceeded in temperature a certainpredetermined degree.

The spring 21 constantly tends, as before described, to separate themembers of the separable connector and to thereby break When the iron isin use the hand of the operator will prevent the member 23 from slidingrearwardly along the handle and since the member 23 is connected by therod 22 to the plug holding member 19, the latter is held in the positionillustrated inFig. 1. The plug is also held in this position, and. theelectrical connection maintained, when the iron is placed on the stand,inasmuch as the member 19 will ongage the upper end of the pivoted arm26, which will prevent rearward'motion of the plug under the influenceof the spring. If the iron is put down by the operator at .any otherpoint, however, and the handle released, it is apparent that the plug 13will immediately be disengaged from the socket by the spring, inasmuchas no opposition is offered either to the rearward movement oitheinember 19 or to the rearward movement When placed on the 1 stand theiron will. continue to heat until its temperature has reached anundesirable degr'ee. when the fusible link 30 will melt, re-

leasing the latch 29 and allowing the plug ea ers I to he forcedrearwardly by the spring to break the connection.

lt, when the iron. is being used, it is found to be too hot for certainclasses of work, the rod 22 may be adjusted to allow the spring 21 tobreak the connection. To effect this adjustment a is only necessary toraise the rod 22 slightly so that the shoulder at 2.4. will disengagethe edge of the member 19. ln this manner the iron. may be instantlyadjusted so. that the circuit will be broken automatically under theconditions stated, or maybe adjusted for ordinary manual manlpulation ofthe circuit breakingdevice.

It will be apparent from the above description that the invention is ofgreat simplicity and adaptability, that it may be made with smallexpense, and in many terms to be applied to difterent kinds of Irons andsupporting stands, and that it provides means whereby the overheating ofthe iron through accident or neglect is positively prevented, eitherwhen the iron is placed on the stand or is laid down at some otherpoint.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is l 1. The combination with an electrically.heated device having a separable electric connection adjacent the same,of means for closing said connection when the handle is gripped andopening the same when the handle 15 released, said means including amember movable longitudinally of the handle by the hand of the operator.

2. The combination with an electrically heated device having a separableelectric connection ad acent the same, of means for closing saidconnection when the handle is spring for moving said member in onedirection and simultaneously parting the electrical. connection.

3. The combination with an electrically heated device having a separableelectrid connection adjacent the same, of means for closing saidconnection when the handle is gripped and opening the same when thehandle is released, said means including a member movable longitudinallyof the handle, a spring, and connections bctween said member and springwhereby the latter is put under strain when the former is moved by thehand. I

4%. The combination with an electrically heated device having aseparable electric connection adjacent the same, of means for closingsaid connection when the handle is grlppedand automatically opening thesame when the handle is released, said means benemesis ing adapted to beadjusted to prevent the closing of the connection when the handle isgripped, if desired.

5. The combination with an electrically heated device having a separableelectric connection, of means for closing said connection when thehandle is gripped and opening the same when the handle is re leased,said means including a member adapted to he moved by the hand or" theoperator when the handle is grasoed, aspring, and means normallyconnecting said member and spring whereby the latter is put under strainwhen the former is moved, said means being readily disconnectible, forthe purpose set forth.

6. The combination with an electrically heated device having a separableelectric connection, of means for closing said connection when thehandle is gripped and opening the same when the handle is released, saidmeans comprising a member mo 'able longitudinally of the handle, aspring, and connections between said meni- 'oer and spring including arod having a hooked portion, whereby the spring is put under strain whensaid member is moved said rod being" arranged to be disconnected,

-l'or the purpose set forth.

7. The combination with an electrically heated device having a handleand a sepa rable electric connection adjacent the same,

8. The combination with an electrically heated iron having a handle anda separable electric connection adjacent the same of a stand therefor,means including a spring on the iron for breaking the electricconnecticn when the handle is released by the operator, and means on thestand for preventing. said so] 1g from operating to break the connectionwhen the iron is placed thereon and the handle released.

9. The combination with an electrically heated having a handle and aseparable electric connection adjacent the same, of a stand thereformeans on the electrically heated device adapted to break the electricconnection when the handle is released by the operator, and means on thestand for normally preventing said first mentioned means from becomingoperative when the device is placed thereon and the handle released, butwhich. will release the connection breaking means when the iron becoincsoverheated.

l(). The combination with an electrically heated device having a. handleand a separable electric ((llll'ltililiiifil adjacent the same, of astand therefor, means on the electrically lPZI CDXl device adapted tobreak the electric connection when the handle is released by theoperator, and means on the stand for normally preventing said firstmentioned means from becoming operative when the device is placedthereon and the handle released, said meansflncludifig a fusible linkadapted to melt to release the connection breaking means when the ironbecomes overncatedn I in tes imoriy wliereoi l afiix my signature.

Eli-NAB j EL'EQON CAMPBELL.

